How Many Designers/Developers Sell Upgrades?

[Mister B]

During my time working as a buyer, I would always look for the salesman to visit me on a monthly basis to discuss sell through and how we could improve things going forward. It was always good to take a proactive stance on how business could move forward.

When it comes to ecommerce though, it would be interesting to know how many web designers & developers actually manage their clients and talk them through upgrades and improvements further down the line from project completion.

Just as retail stores need refurbishment, surely the same applies to web stores. I tend to try and move mine periodically, indeed, it's about to have a major revamp. So the second question relates to how many people see investment in their website as an ongoing investment.

Does that make sense or do I need to have a drink:D

Mister B

[WarringtonWebsiteDesign]

I always inform my clients and outline the benefits of:

1. A maintenance contract. Content & design.
2. An upgrade service. Always ensuring the latest version of software is running.

Not all take it up but that is OK. Those that do find it is great value for money and gives them peace of mind.

I maintain contact with all past clients as far as practicable - I want there business if they decide it's time for a re-design!

[matt.chatterley]

Does that make sense or do I need to have a drink:D

Mister B

Makes sense to me - but maybe we just both need a nip??

We build eCommerce sites ontop of an in-house framework - and from time to time we add features to said framework which we offer to existing clients as well as new. Sometimes there is a cost attached (e.g if the layout or specific implementation of the site needs to be changed to fit the new functionality in neatly) - sometimes there isn't.

We also encourage our clients to constantly review the effectiveness of their website and work with them to get the best results possible - it seems obvious to say, but the more money they make, the larger their budget for future development is likely to be - so everybody wins!

[edmondscommerce]

most of our projects are upgrades or extensions to existing sites

In my experience serious ecommerce sites always have a list longer than their current budget of things that need doing, so its a case of constantly chipping away at the high priority end of the list.

There's always new products, new features, upgrades, extensions, supplier XML integrations etc etc

And when one store is working perfectly its time to roll out the next one! (ahem, Magento is great for this)

[Mister B]

most of our projects are upgrades or extensions to existing sites


But are the upgrades driven by you or the customer?

Fair enough point on the extensions.

Mister B

[ComputerCoders]

But are the upgrades driven by you or the customer?

Fair enough point on the extensions.

Mister B

Upgrades should be upsold based upon your customer's needs.

[edmondscommerce]

But are the upgrades driven by you or the customer?

Fair enough point on the extensions.

Mister B

we are totally client led, working on a project by project basis rather than any kind of retainer etc

our clients would ask us to do the upgrade for them and we would do it

some clients do ask for advice at which point we might suggest things, but generally our clients have a very clear idea of what they want and they are just looking for someone who can deliver

[ComputerCoders]

I still think it's a good idea to let your existing client base know of existing and new products/services that can make them money. Afterall, their budget might have increased since you first did work for them. I disagree that customers necessary know what is available to them. That's your job to educate them.

[edmondscommerce]

my own experience is that you can try to tell people what they want, but most of the time the have already decided:)

[Mister B]

I understand the points of view put across, but taking you Joseph, as an example, would you have let your clients know that a new version of Magento was available and at the same time letting them know how it could improve their business?

Mister B

[edmondscommerce]

generally yeah, but we haven't broadcast it to everyone we have ever spoken to - mostly because if they all turned around and said they wanted it we wouldn't be able to deliver it for everyone in a timely fashion.

[edmondscommerce]

another note - Magento has a built in notifications system so store owners can't really help but know when there is an upgrade available